Why Google Isn’t Business Magic
If you want to have a top-ranking result for a subject, you need to answer that question better than anyone else on the internet. That means leaning on your subject matter expertise, presenting it with clarity, and earning trust through accuracy and depth. If you don’t set out to have the best version of that thing, you don’t deserve to be at the top of the list.
This is the heart of modern SEO. Onsite optimisation is really just another way of saying do things properly. It’s about creating high-quality, valuable content in your specialist area, rather than trying to cover everything, and being outstanding where you are genuinely credible.
Google, and now AI-powered search tools, only promote content they can find, trust, and understand. If your site isn’t crawlable, accurate, and authoritative, neither Google Search nor AI assistants like ChatGPT, Copilot, or Gemini will recommend you.
Even if your website is receiving more traffic, you still need to manage that visibility. Think of SEO like a tax return: it’s tedious, but only fools avoid it. If you’d rather not handle it yourself, consider hiring someone who will. The payoff is worth it — a higher rank in Google means more customers will find you instead of your rivals.
Here are the key areas to focus on.
Social media and online presence
Google wants to promote trustworthy businesses. It checks your signals on social networks and directories to assess your trustworthiness. Maintain active business profiles on the platforms where your customers are (e.g. LinkedIn for B2B, Facebook or Instagram for B2C, plus a Google Business Profile listing if you serve local markets). Keep these profiles updated with current information, posts or articles, and customer reviews.
Why it matters: Google and other search engines treat a strong, active social presence as evidence of a legitimate business. Regular updates and positive reviews on these sites (including your Google Business Profile and industry directories) tell Google you’re a real, engaged company — which can boost your search ranking.
Example: A bakery that posts photos regularly on Instagram or updates its hours on Google Business Profile gains trust signals that help its website rank when people search for “bakery near me”.
Website
Your website itself is the foundation of search visibility. Make sure it’s technically sound and content-rich. At a minimum, Google’s guidelines stress focusing on accuracy, quality and relevance in your content and metadata. That means every page should have a clear, unique title tag and meta description related to its topic, and the text on the page should directly address what users are searching for.
Other best practices include:
Mobile-friendly and fast: Google now indexes the mobile version of your site first. Ensure your site loads quickly on phones and desktops, and uses HTTPS (secure hosting). Slow or broken pages will rank poorly.
Clear headings and structure: Use headings (H1, H2, etc.) and short paragraphs to make content scannable. An introductory paragraph that immediately answers the main question helps Google understand the page’s topic.
Structured data: If relevant, add schema markup (structured data) for things like products, FAQs, events or local business info. This helps Google create rich results (snippets, maps listings) and can also feed AI answer engines.
High-quality content: Write content that truly helps the reader. Instead of keyword stuffing, focus on providing clear, complete explanations, helpful tips, or detailed service descriptions. Update content regularly to keep it current.
You should also build a program to increase inbound links (‘backlinks) from other reputable sites. High-quality links inform Google that your website is authoritative, which in turn improves your ranking over time.
Keyword analysis
Optimising for search starts with knowing what people actually type into the search bar. It’s common to rank for your own business name, but you also need to reach customers who don’t know you yet. Use tools like Google Search Console, Google Keyword Planner, or Google Analytics to see which terms drive traffic to your site.
That data lets you set priorities. Don’t try to rank for everything at once — pick a few themes that make sense for your business and commit to being the best in those areas. A good target keyword meets these criteria:
People actually search for it. Confirm search volume using keyword tools or Google Trends.
It clearly matches your expertise and USP. The term should be directly related to what you offer, so visitors who click find exactly what they’re looking for.
It’s tied to profitable services. Focus on searches for the products or services that matter most to your bottom line.
Then create or refine pages around those keywords. Make each page highly relevant: use the target phrase in the page title, headings, and in the text naturally. But more importantly, answer the query fully and better than anyone else.
For example, if “emergency plumbing services” is a target keyword, a page about your plumbing team’s emergency service that clearly explains what you do, where, when, and why you’re credible will rank far better than a half-hearted attempt. Over time, this focus on depth and expertise improves rankings for the keywords that matter.
AI and Search engines
Today, many users begin with AI-powered search tools (large language model assistants like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, or Google Gemini) instead of traditional search pages. These tools provide quick, conversational answers by summarising information from the web. Research shows that people often prefer AI chat for nuanced or explanatory questions, while traditional Google search is still used for straightforward facts.
For your business, this means: don’t ignore it. Your content should serve both audiences. Continue to optimise for Google (so you rank high in search results), and also aim to be useful for AI answers. In practice, that means writing content that directly and clearly answers the common questions in your field. FAQ-style sections or conversational Q&As on your site can be picked up by AI systems.
Many tactics for being visible in AI search are just good SEO in disguise:
Stay factual and up to date: AI tools rely on the information they find. Ensure your site’s facts, figures, and offerings are up to date.
Structured Q&A content: Consider adding a Q&A or FAQ section that directly answers common customer questions. Use natural language so that an AI chatbot can use those answers verbatim.
Citations and sources: Some AI answers include source links. If your content is authoritative and well-cited, there’s a chance it will be used as a source in AI-generated results.
There’s plenty of hype about AI “killing SEO,” but the reality is simpler: the fundamental goal hasn’t changed. Whether the query is answered by Google or by an AI model, the winner will likely be the best answer — accurate, useful, and trusted.
Advertising
If your website is new or not yet ranking on page one organically, paid search ads are a powerful way to appear at the top of Google immediately. Google Ads remains highly sophisticated: it rewards ads that closely match what people search for by showing them more often and charging you less.
To take advantage, craft ad copy that exactly aligns with the searcher’s intent and send clicks to a focused landing page. For example, if someone searches for “buy leather office chairs,” an ad reading “Premium Leather Office Chairs – Fast Delivery” linking to your chairs page will earn a high-quality score (lower cost per click) and convert better.
Start small if you’re unsure: set a modest daily budget and run a few ads testing different headlines and calls to action. Measure which ads bring clicks and inquiries, then refine the winners. Over time this pay-per-click advertising will not only drive leads but also give you data on which keywords perform best. And don’t forget: Google’s ad platform now uses AI features (like automated bidding and responsive ads) to optimise campaigns for the best results.
The bottom line
Being found on Google isn’t magic — it takes work. Take SEO and content optimisation off your ‘one day’ list and get it done. Google is very smart, and AI search is getting smarter, but neither knows your business as well as you do.
If you want to win, don’t aim for average. Be the best answer in your subject area, and prove it with clarity, quality, and trust. If you skip this, your competitors will happily take your place at the top of search results.
